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Category: Giveaways

Win the 'Farscape' megaset

I'm extending Tuesday's Farscape Day into Farscape Week.

Today, I'm giving away the 25-disc box set containing the complete series (minus the follow-up miniseries).

For more details on the set, scroll down. It's a doozy.

For your chance to win it, send your name and address to ehenrickson@detnews.com. Enter once by Nov. 27, and use "Farscape" as your subject line.

Good luck!

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Category: Video

Saturday mornings ain't what they used to be

The great thing about nostalgia is that you can remember something was as wonderful as you want it to be, and no one can tell you differently.

Until it comes out on DVD.

The last couple months have been full of nostalgic releases for Gen-Xers like me: new volumes in the "Saturday Morning Cartoons" series, "Plastic Man," "Smurfs" and the "Ruby-Spears Superman," to name a few.

Overall, I think I'd rather just keep my memories.

The Smurfs are, well, the Smurfs. Even in the '80s, you loved 'em or hated 'em. I loved 'em, and they're still good for a few smiles. And the powers that be are counting on the "love 'em" camp to fill seats for an upcoming movie. (Seriously, check this out, the Blue Buddies folks even have 3D modeling tests, and imdb.com is showing John Lithgow, Wallace Shawn and Julia Sweeney in the rumored cast.) Dare I hope for a "Snorks" release?

"Plastic Man" is just sad. Why did I love this? Well, it was a "funny" superhero, for one thing, and I'm a sucker for superheroes. But the animation, writing and voice work are all pretty bad, the jokes totally lame. Maybe I don't need the Plastic Baby episodes, after all.

Speaking of superheroes, "Ruby-Spears Superman" holds up a bit better. There are some interesting stories in the set (the original series aired in the late '80s after "Super Friends" ended its long run), and the animation's not bad for its time. But voice veteran Michael Bell is horribly miscast as Lex Luthor. Wonder Woman fans can look for her as the only super guest star in the one-season series.

That leaves the "Saturday Morning Cartoon" sets, one each featuring cartoons from the '60s and '70s (though some on the '70s set are actually from the '60s).

Since they mix up lots of titles, they fare better and offer some pretty cool stuff. The "Looney Tunes" cartoons are a given, of course, but there's some fun Hanna-Barbera stuff in there, too.

For instance, I was surprised to see how well "Sealab 2020" held up, despite the skewering on Cartoon Network. It's actually a decent drama that seems ahead of its time for 1972. I also enjoyed "The Space Kidettes" on the '60s set, about four kids in their space clubhouse trying to keep a treasure map away from space pirate Captain Skyhook. It's just silly fun that characterized some of the best of the Hanna-Barbera cartoons, especially the earlier stuff.

And "The Great Grape Ape" still holds a special place in my heart, Beagly Beagly.

Other toons appearing on the sets include "Shazzan," "The Hair Bear Bunch," "Valley of the Dinosaurs," "The New Adventures of Gilligan" and "Inch High Private Eye." Don't bother with "Yogi's Gang" -- its heavy-handed morality and odd voice work make it pretty much unwatchable.

But despite some disappointment, I refuse to let it dim my enthusiasm for some nostalgia releases coming up, including "Super Friends: Season 1 Volume 1" on Jan. 5 (just about completing the series' DVD availability) and "Scooby's All Star Laff-A-Lympics" (vol. 1) on Jan. 19.

I'm ready with my bowl of Fruit Loops.

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Category: Video

A frelling great week for 'Farscape' fans

I officially (OK, unofficially) declare today to be Farscape Day!

Yes, today is the day "Farscape: The Complete Series Megaset" arrives in stores, 10 years after the show's debut on the Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy). The box includes 88 episodes on 25 discs, plus lots of extras, including deleted scenes, 29 episode commentaries, interviews and making-of featurettes. (Hint: The first disc of the first season is hiding in the case beneath the promotional materials.)

According to distributor A&E, "Farscape" tells the "adventures of John Crichton (Ben Browder), as he finds himself surrounded by hostile aliens and soaring through the cosmos aboard Moya, a glorious living space ship. Hunted by the relentless Peacekeepers, he allies himself with Moya's crew -- Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), Luxan warrior Ka D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe), azure priestess Zhaan (Virginia Hey), spritely Nebari thief Chiana (Gi gi Edgley), Dominar Rygel, the deposed royal ruler of the Hynerian Empire, and Pilot -- to search for a way out of this inconceivably alien world and return home."

That just skims the surface of this ambitious, stranger-in-a-strange-land tale, which was full of rich characters and layered stories. Characters came and went over the course of four seasons, mostly for the good, and even though it had lost its spark by the end, it was still destination viewing in my household.

It was great becoming reacquainted with the first season over the weekend, when it all seemed new again. It's fun getting those "oh, yeah" moments when you see something or someone that you'd forgotten that tie into something that happened later.

It was especially fun to watch the second episode, "I, E.T.," again. I thought it put a great and realistic twist on the "Star Trek" standard for First Contact.

The show was produced by the Jim Henson Co., and their creature shop did some great things. D'Argo's makeup was amazing, even by today's standards, and allowed Simcoe to show great expression. And Hey was beautiful as the blue Zhaan, the heart of the show. Rygel and Pilot, both puppets, showed as much expression as any "real" characters.

Looking at the image quality, I can now see why A&E didn't rush to get a Blu-ray set out, too. The hi-def format probably wouldn't be any better than the Blu-ray player's upconversion of the regular DVDs.

For fans who want a really complete series, head over to Best Buy, where they've got a set that contains the "Peacekeeper Wars" miniseries that wrapped everything up.

A&E is also releasing the series in separate season sets.

Come back Friday for a great "Farscape" giveaway!

In addition to the DVDs, this week sees the launch of the ongoing "Farscape" comic book from Boom! Studios.

Boom has published several miniseries over the past several months, all fairly well written but often poorly drawn. I've seen the first issue of the ongoing, and it picks up where the last miniseries ends.

SPOILER ALERT!

At the end of the TV series, Crichton and Aeryn had a baby. It turns out that baby has a mutation at the base of its spine that has some ... interesting ... effects. There's also an assassin trying to kill the baby for an unknown reason.

It's being written by "Farscape" creator Rockne S. O'Bannon with decent-enough art by Will Sliney. It's too bad cover artist Joe Corroney couldn't do the interiors, too.

It would have been nice for the miniseries to be self-contained so the ongoing could start fresh, but I'll take my "Farscape" where I can get it. There are more miniseries planned, as well.

Category: Television

Lots of 'Smallville' goodies

Well, after the fun "Wonder Twins" episode of "Smallville" Friday (coulda used more of them, but I like the way they snuck Gleek in), I thought I'd do a little hunting to see what was up with the Justice Society ep that's coming later this season.

Turns out Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly has all kinds of cool SPOILERS. You've been warned.

What was originally one episode, then two, now has turned into a two-hour event to air Jan. 29. Stargirl, Hawkman and Dr. Fate will be in it, as will Amanda Waller, known in the DC Universe for keeping an eye on all the metahumans. Pam Grier ("Jackie Brown") will play her. (I'd have preferred CCH Pounder, who provided her voice in the "Justice League" and "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" cartoons, but it'll be cool to see her.)

Other tidbits: Sexy magician Zatanna will be returning, and Chloe may get a new love interest, both at the Metropolis Wonder-Con.

And, you never know. Lex Luthor and/or Perry White might show up by season's end, too.

Another favorite spot for "Smallville" spoilers is KryptonSite, which has some info on the Justice Society movie from Michael Shanks ("Stargate: SGU"), who plays Hawkman.

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Category: Video

'The Plan' doesn't quite pass muster

"Battlestar Galactica: The Plan" (Universal) -- For diehard fans only, "The Plan" is a fitfully interesting look at what the Cylons were thinking in their attack on the Colonies, but it doesn't answer all the questions it should, and it's kinda boring to boot.

Oh, and then there's the completely gratuitous "because-we-can" nudity. Interestingly, especially for a movie targeted to a heavily straight-male demographic, both sexes show some close-up skin, but it's mostly women. And while I have no problem with nudity in movies in general, the sheer pointlessness of it screams, "Tee hee -- we can show breasts on DVD!"

But back to the story: The movie looks at the days leading up to the destruction of the Colonies and the first couple seasons of the show. A lot of it is footage from the show, interspersed with newly filmed framing sequences that put things in a new context. It zeroes in on the fanatical role of Cylon model No. 1, Cavill (Dean Stockwell), and shows what all the Final Five models were doing before the Cylons attacked.

Spoilers abound, so if you haven't seen the main series yet, this isn't the place to start (and you might want to stop reading this review).

The biggest problem with "The Plan" is that it doesn't really have a plot. It has a story arc, but it's mostly retelling what we already know with a couple of surprises and "Ah, that's what that means" moments. That could have been intersting enough, but "The Plan" doesn't do it quite right.

One thing it does do is show how much Tricia Helfer grew as an actress over the course of filming the series. Seeing the new bits against some original scenes shows just how much she was robbed later on in not getting nominated for an Emmy.

Everything "The Plan" does (show the divergence of the Cavills on Galactica and Caprica, fill in some gaps on the resistance on Caprica, for instance) is fine and dandy. Where "The Plan" fails is in what it doesn't do. And that's summed up well by a user review on IMDB.com: "We don't see the things I really wanted to know. I wanted to see the Cylon worlds. I wanted to see WHY the Cylons chose to attack, and why now. I want to see WHY they chose to infiltrate ..., and why that way. I want to learn the Cylon choices and motivations and psychology."

And for the important role she played in the show, "The Plan" really suffers from not being able to get Lucy Lawless to reprise her role as model No. 3, D'Anna. Granted, she didn't become really important until later on, but her absence was still a big hole in the movie.

Another missing personality is President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), who doesn't even appear in old footage. I would have expected her since a major plot point was revealed when she remembered seeing Cylon model No. 6, Caprica (Helfer), in the days before the attack.

It's as if some execs said, "We need to milk more out of this franchise while we can. What have you got?"

"Um, a few story notes we didn't get to cover in the show."

"Turn it into a movie! And add breasts!"

If you've followed the show closely, "The Plan" does offer some insights that makes it worth watching. It's not that long, and it's nice to reconnect with some of the characters. But it could have been so much more. GRADE: C+

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Category: Television

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' turn 25

It's been 25 years since I held the first issue of "Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles" in my hands and put it down because I couldn't see spending my hard-earned allowance on a black-and-white comic book about something as silly as teenage mutant ninja turtles.

I've been kicking myself for 20 years.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the megaselling franchise of comics, TV shows and movies, the CW4Kids block of Saturday morning cartoons is presenting "Turtles Forever," a retrospective that looks at the comic, the 1980s-'90s series and the latest animated incarnation. It's a sort of last hurrah, I guess, before the Turtles move over to new corporate owner Nickelodeon. (Nick plans a new CGI series and movie in 2012.)

The 90-minute "Turtles Forever" is scheduled to air at 10 a.m. Nov. 21 on WKBD-TV (Channel 50).

For a trailer, visit the CW4Kids Web site.

Turtle power!

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Category: Anime

First impression: 'Tower of Druaga'

"The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk" (Funimation) -- "Druaga," based on a video game but set decades later, falls firmly in the camp of fun fantasy adventure titles. So far, it seems mostly lightweight but with some genuine moments of dramatic intensity and some bits of humor thrown in, especially the first episode.

The focus of the series is Jil, a young adventurer who's fired from his brother's questing party and winds up with a new group.

Their quest? To scale the Tower of Druaga and defeat the evil demon at the top. The demon's power and his Blue Crystal Rod can be used to help the people who live around the tower, in the city of Meskia. Different groups, known as climbers, have different motives. And Meskia's army is also heading up.

One has to wonder, though, since this is based on a video game, and the opening credit sequence shows the characters as modern-day high school students, is the whole thing going to be a dream? Or were the creators just being cute? After reading more about the series, I have a feeling it's the latter.

Jil is an amiable character and a strong focus for the show. He winds up in a Climber group with Kaaya, a healer with a hidden agenda; Ahmey, the fighter; Melt, a down-on-his luck but powerful lightning mage; and Coopa, his young servant (and the one that makes Melt seem as powerful as he thinks he is). In gaming parlance, Jil is the tank. He has a powerful shield and is pretty good at holding back enemies while the others prepare their attacks.

For such a serious box cover, the show has a lot more humor than I expected. And after the first episode, it's just the right amount -- enough to diffuse and overly serious moment or to find the lightness in a tough situation.

Coming from Gonzo, the animation is suitably impressive. And several of Fumination's regulars do a fine job in the dub, including Todd Haberkorn, who usually takes on supporting roles, as Jil; Brina Palencia as Ahmey and Monica Rial as Coopa.

This set contains the first season of 12 episodes. The second season, subtitled "The Sword of Uruk," has not been scheduled yet. Both seasons are available, subtitled, on Crunchyroll.com, which started streaming the series as it aired in Japan.

They're definitely worth a look.

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Category: Anime

New edition of 'Inuyaha' manga on the way

Fans of Rumiko Takahashi's "Inuyasha" (and I know there are lots of you, judging from past giveaways) who haven't tried out the manga get a new chance this week.

Viz is releasing an "omnibus" edition on Tuesday. The book, in a larger format than normal for manga (5-3/4 by 8-5/8 inches), includes the first three volumes of the manga for $17.99.

For those who don't know what "Inuyasha" is all about, here's the Viz description:

"After falling into an old well and into ancient Japan, Kagome discovers that her destiny is linked to the dog-like half demon called Inuyasha! As Kagome learns more about her connection to the past and to Inuyasha, she comes into conflict with the terrible demons that are drawn to the Shikon Jewel, including Inuyasha's own half brother, Sesshomaru. Finding the shards of the Shikon Jewel is going to require powerful magic, strange allies, and a strong heart. Kagome's got plenty of heart, but she's going to need Inuyasha's help for the rest of it, and he may not be so willing to lend a hand!"

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Category: Giveaways

Get the latest 'Dragon Ball'

In honor of yesterday's Youmacon post, I'm giving away the Seaon One and Season Two sets of the latest "Dragon Ball" from Funimation.

For your chance to win the uncut sets (they come with a rating of TV 14), send your name and address to ehenrickson@detnews.com. Use "Dragon Ball" as your subject line, and enter only once by Nov. 13.

Last week's "Mystery Science Theater 3000" has garnered my biggest response in years, but "Dragon Ball" is always popular. Anime fans, show those "Misties" who's boss!

Good luck!

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Category: Anime

Youmacon 2009 report

When I wasn unable to attend this year's Youmacon, longtime reader Patty Hammond offered to be my eyes and ears. And boy, did she deliver.

It sounds like the event was a rousing success, and here are her impressions (along with lots of photos and some Youtube videos -- Caitlin Glass as "The Little Mermaid"!)

Voice actors

Caitlin Glass is very excited to be an ADR director for "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood," which has just started the dubbing process. She also sang three songs during her panel with Dave Kitsberg from the Spoony Bards accompanying her on guitar.

Laura Bailey showed an episode of "Soul Eater" during her panel, and she starts her dub work for the role of Lust on "FMA: Brotherhood" this week in Texas.

Travis Willingham did a special signing in one of the panel rooms for those attending either Laura's panel or his panel because there were so many people in line for autographs that they had to cap the line at 100 before anyone who was attending either of these panels could even begin to line up.

The con itself

They Hyatt Regency Dearborn was so crowded, elevators became an issue, and some guests were late to their own panels. There was a good variety of dealers, and they had to impose a strict limit on crowds.

Manga presentation

The manga-ka team Konohana Sakuya (Kohei and Tsugumi Nishino) did a special presentation about the industry in Japan and about the production process. It was a very interesting presentation and showed many aspects of the manga industry. They also took the time to answer questions from aspiring artists on such topics as types of pens and paper used, how best to utilize computer technology in the process and the three paths to becoming a published manga artist:

1. Be an assistant to an established manga artist

2. Be a Dojinshi artist

3. Submit a manga story directly to the publisher, usually through the monthly contests (this is how they got their start along with the artists for "Naruto" and "One Piece").

Be sure to click on Patty's user name to see more of her videos from the con.